Never Do These 4 Things When Driving Around Trucks on the Highway

Max is a Kirkland personal injury attorney handling cases in Seattle, King County & surrounding in WA State.

Everyone knows that an accident involving a large truck can be catastrophic, and smashed vehicles are just the beginning of it. To help you prevent a large truck accident from happening, make sure that you never do any of the following four things while driving around trucks on the highway.

1. Cut in Front of a Truck

Cutting in front of regular passenger vehicles is never a good idea. But cutting in front of a large truck, which requires much more time to stop than does a regular passenger car, can be catastrophic. If you plan to pass in front of a large truck, make sure you provide the truck with plenty of distance behind you.

2. Refuse to Move Over

If a truck is tailgating you, one of the worst things that you can do is completely refuse to move over. If you refuse to move over, the truck driver—who shouldn’t be tailgating in the first place—might become frustrated. Frustration can lead to truck driver road rage or aggression, which can be extremely dangerous.

3. Try to Pass Unsafely

Semi-trucks and commercial vehicles are much longer than are regular cars. As such, they need to make much wider turns. To do so, they will often pull to the left before swinging back to the right. Sometimes, this motion will confuse motorists who are hoping to pass a semi-truck.

Instead of patiently waiting for the truck, they will try to pass the truck on the right rather than the left. When the truck starts turning to the right though, the motorist may get trapped in between the truck and the side of the road. Illegal passing is also known as “squeeze play.”

You can avoid squeeze play by always passing large trucks (and other vehicles) on the left.

4. Linger in Blind Spots

A large truck has bigger blind spots than does a regular motor vehicle. If a truck can’t see you, they may change lanes right into you, running you off the road or hitting you. The blind spots on a truck are usually directly to the right and the left of the vehicle, as well as directly (tailgating distance) behind and directly in front of the truck. Make sure you always stay in front or behind of a large vehicle, and always give the truck plenty of distance.

Learn More About Truck Accidents in Washington State

You can read more about truck accident statistics in Washington State, liability for truck accidents, and why you should avoid giving a recorded statement after a truck accident on our blog. If you are ready to move forward on a truck crash claim then call Max Meyers Law PLLC at (888) 230-4970.